Tony Hawks is the comedian/ writer who only gets deadly serious when it comes to his crusade to get more free access to tennis for youngsters in public parks.
At the moment he is busy editing the film that has been made of his book Playing The Moldovans At Tennis, which details what happened when he struck a bet that he could play against every member of the Moldovan football team.
This will not stop him pursuing the necessary funds to support the Tennis For Free campaign, which he is keen to expand from its current base in the London borough of Merton.
Tony Hawks: Man on a tennis mission More from Mike Dickson... World of Tennis: Gulbis may be right that the top four are boring and polite... but no sport has the characters of 30 years ago 02/06/13 The tune has been changed: The ITPL launch will finally end the tedious annual complaints over the length of the calendar 26/05/13 World of Tennis: Nadal looks as good as ever... hopefully Murray will be fit to test him in Paris 19/05/13 World of Tennis: Slams need to help smaller events pay the way for Future stars 13/05/13 All England Club can't find members who saw Bunny's big day 08/07/12 Mike Dickson's World of Tennis: Jack's not court short 01/07/12 Mike Dickson's World of Tennis: Confounding stereotypes 17/06/12 World of Tennis: Like her parents before her, Baltacha deserves Olympic spot 10/06/12 World of Tennis: Watson has no issues with new Brit Konta 03/06/12 VIEW FULL ARCHIVEHe could only look on enviously this week as the Lawn Tennis Association launched their latest grassroots campaign, with paid-for celebrities in attendance, entitled 'allplay'.
Hawks believes that with just £375,000 he could roll out his established, volunteer-led Merton programme across the 25 poorest boroughs in the country, and is waiting for a response to his latest plea for what is a small amount to the LTA. Most of all, he would love a bit of the £26million of taxpayers' money that the governing body gets from Sport England over four years specifically to develop the game at grassroots level.
Allplay sounds a good idea - attempting to improve access to coaches, courts and fellow players via the internet - but the LTA's track record of trying to democratise the sport is not good.
The latest high-profile patron of Tennis For Free is Judy Murray, who probably knows more about the development of junior talent than anyone else in the country.
'We will have to see if allplay is any more successful than what has gone before or just another gimmick,' says Hawks. 'They seem to be worried about the sustainability of our programme, but it's been working well for seven years now.'
Tennis-enthusiast politicians are watching closely. Couldn't the LTA just cede a bit of control, and get behind Tennis For Free, which is surely the embodiment of the Big Society concept?
More about these schemes at Tennisforfree.com, and lta.org.uk/allplaytennis.
SERENA SET TO BE REACQUAINTED WITH US FINAL OFFICIALIn the week that Serena Williams announced her comeback it was interesting to spot at Queen's Japanese linesperson Shino Tsurubuchi, subject of Serena's foulmouthed tirade that got her slung out of the US Open final two years ago when she was playing Kim Clijsters.
And there is every chance they could be reacquainted over the next few weeks as Tsurubuchi is over for a four-week stint of officiating that will take in Wimbledon, although not Eastbourne, as she is on the line at the qualifying event in Roehampton instead.
She is likely to be working the show courts at SW19 which will host Serena, because it turns out that Shino is very highly regarded at what she does and popular among colleagues.
Tirade: Serena Williams (left) argues with match officials after blasting Shino Tsurubuchi (right)'We assess the performances of linespeople and Shino always comes out right at the top in terms of performance, she's excellent,' says ATP Tour supervisor Gerry Armstrong.
'We brought her over to do the World Tour finals at the O2 Arena last year because she's so good. She is also a very nice person.'
SHARAPOVA MAKES MIRACULOUS RECOVERYThose Maria Sharapova fans who were disappointed by her late withdrawal from the WTA event in Birmingham will doubtless be relieved to know that the 'illness' she cited for not turning up did not last very long.
Withdrawal: Maria Sharapova did not play in Birmingham due to illnessSo quick was her recovery that she was seen practising at the All England Club last Monday, when the tournament in Brum was barely under way.
QUEEN'S HAS KUDOSIt gives great pleasure to announce that this has been a good week for the LTA.
There have been some eye-catching displays from British players and the shambles at the Rugby Football Union is a reminder that other sports governing bodies have imperfections, too.
LTA success: Prime Minister David Cameron at Queen's BRIT OF THE WEEK (an Andy Murray-free zone):It has to be James Ward, for beating the world Nos 14, 26 and 54 at the Queen's Club, with honourable mention to Elena Baltacha, winner at the event in Nottingham.
Notably, though, the success of their flagship AEGON Championships at Queen's Club in the teeth of some difficult weather continues to confound predictions that the event might suffer after they took it over three years ago. In fact, the innovative presentation and running of the tournament has improved since it morphed from its longstanding and popular status as the Stella Artois.
There have been sell-out crowds and when you get assorted sportspeople/ celebs turning up it creates a real buzz. The tennis, particularly Andy Murray's demolition of Andy Roddick, has been good, too.
So credit to tournament director Chris Kermode. Coming next : British players take Wimbledon by storm (we hope).
More... Murray must wait until Monday for Queen's Club final after rain postpones Tsonga clash Baltacha wins Aegon Nottingham Challenge title after beating Cetkovska in straight sets
